Task force arrests Richland woman in stabbing of boyfriend

Jessica Peterson of Richland has been booked into the Yakima County jail after being found by the U.S. Marshal Service Task Force based in Yakima.

Peterson, 26, is accused of grabbing a knife from a butcher block and stabbing her boyfriend in the chest Nov. 20, according to Richland police. Her boyfriend drove to the hospital and was treated.

Peterson left the home before police arrived and law enforcement had been looking for her for a week. She is being held on suspicion of first-degree assault and domestic violence.

Semi-truck rear-ends another on Interstate 82

A driver from Kent may face a citation from the Washington State Patrol after reportedly rear-ending a Pasco driver Wednesday on Interstate 82, about 22 miles east of Ellensburg.

Robert P. Kruzich, 43, of Kent, was driving a 2012 Freightliner truck west on the highway when he reportedly rear-ended a 1990 International truck pulling a 1972 flatbed trailer driven by Terry R. Hayles, 52, of Pasco, the state patrol reported.

Hayles was taken to Kittitas Valley Community Hospital with unknown injuries.

The accident happened at about 1 p.m.

Driver inattention caused the crash and charges against Kruzich may be pending, officials reported.

2 hospitalized after vans crash near Pasco

Failure to yield the right of way reportedly caused two vans to crash and sent two people to area hospitals Wednesday north of Pasco near the Country Mercantile, the Washington State Patrol reported.

Gloria L. De Bord Morris, 62, of Othello, was driving south on Highway 395 at 2:43 p.m. when she tried to turn her 2000 Chevrolet Venture van onto Crestloch Road. She struck another van, driven by Patricia J. Armstrong, 54, of Wenatchee, WSP reported.

Armstrong was driving a 2003 Dodge Caravan north on Highway 395, and Robert F. Whittaker, 88, of East Wenatchee, was her passenger. He was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland with unknown injuries.

De Bord Morris was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco with unknown injuries.

Both vans were totaled.

The WSP said a citation for failing to yield the right of way was pending.

Prosser school closed after crash knocks out power

Whitstran Elementary School in Prosser was closed Wednesday after a car crash caused a power outage at the school.

Prosser School District Superintendent Ray Tolcacher said he was notified at 6:30 a.m. that the school, east of Prosser on Foisy Road, hadn't had power for several hours and it was not known when it would be restored.

"I couldn't take a chance," he said of choosing to cancel classes at the school for the day.

Lt. Chuck Jones of the Benton County Sheriff's Office said a driver headed east on the Old Inland Empire Highway at 1:15 a.m. fell asleep at the wheel, sending his vehicle off the road and crashing into a mailbox, fence and power pole. He was not seriously injured.

Tolcacher said power was restored to Whitstran before the school day would have started but it was too late to recall the closure notice. The school was set to have early release Wednesday and teachers were scheduled to work the day anyway, he said.

Authorities break up heroin trafficking ring

A significant Washington heroin trafficking ring has been broken by Grant County law enforcement officers teamed up with Western Washington police investigators, according to the Graft County Sheriff's Department.

An investigation over several months uncovered a heroin narcotics trafficking ring that was moving drugs between Moses Lake and the Seattle area, according to police reports. After a search warrant was executed last week in the Moses Lake area, several people were taken into custody and heroin seized, according to police reports.

Detectives from Eastern Washington then traveled to Bellevue to team up with the Eastside Narcotics Task Force. Undercover drug buys were conducted in the Seattle area resulting in five arrests, among them Matthew R. Dizzard, 25, and Caspar J.S. Wandler, 22, both from Seattle.

Investigators seized four ounces of heroin, a handgun and almost $7,000 in cash.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office supervised Eastern Washington work and was helped by the Washington State Patrol and the Quincy and Moses Lake Police Departments.

Kennewick police issue sex offender alerts

Kennewick Police recently issued a notification that Terry Wayne Barnett, 43, is living in the 2500 Block of West Grand Ronde Avenue in Kennewick.

Barnett, a level 3 sex offender, is a
5-foot-10 white male. He weighs about 180 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

He was convicted of soliciting to commit aggravated prostitution in Shelby County, Tenn., in 2005, failure to register as a sex offender in Benton County in 2010 and 2012, communication with a minor for immoral purposes in Benton County in 2012 and others -- including assaults, resisting arrest, trespass and escape.

Kennewick Police also issued a notification that William Michael Mcintosh, 65, is living in the 5600 Block of West Fourth Avenue in Kennewick.

Mcintosh, a level 3 sex offender, is a 6-foot-5 white male. He weighs about 300 pounds and has gray hair and hazel eyes.

He was convicted of first-degree child molestation in May 2001 in Benton County and possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in February 2010 in Benton County.

Citizens abusing this information by threatening, intimidating or harassing registered sex offenders will not be tolerated, according to a news release.

Call 911 if a violation is observed or occurs. For support or information related to sexual assault, call the Support Advocacy and Resource Center, available 24 hours a day, at 374-5391.

A special meeting will be held 6 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Kennewick Police Station, 211 W. Sixth Ave., to provide more information on these and other sex offenders in Kennewick. For more information, call Officer Allan Knox at 509-582-1352.

Skateboarder struck by car in Kennewick

A skateboarder was struck by a car in Kennewick just before 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Mathew Kincaid, 27, of Kennewick, was riding his board east on the south sidewalk of West 10th Avenue when he rode out in front of the southbound car driven by William Cox, 68, of Kennewick, said Kennewick police Officer Mike Bowe.

Cox was driving a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am through the intersection of West 10th Avenue and South Rainier Street, Bowe said.

Bowe said Kincaid was taken to the hospital with facial injuries after striking the right front side of the car. The incident still is under investigation.

State patrol seeking witnesses to fatal crash in October

The Washington State Patrol is investigating an Oct. 5 head-on crash that killed two people and injured several others on Highway 12 between Wallula Junction and Touchet, about 16 miles west of Walla Walla.

A westbound vehicle attempted to pass another car traveling the same direction.

Angelique Garcia, 37, of Pasco, and Ruth E. Garcia, 36, of College Place, along with a small dog in the car, were killed in the collision.

Washington State Patrol troopers said the crash was caused by unsafe passing.

Investigators are seeking additional witnesses to the collision and any events leading up to it. If you saw or heard anything or know someone who did, call Trooper Shawn Williams or Sgt. Mike Eggleston at 509-527-4472.

Kennewick police seek credit card theft suspect

Kennewick police are looking for the identity of a woman who used a stolen credit card Oct. 31 in a number of Kennewick locations.

The suspect is a white female with long, black hair. She was wearing a dark jacket, dark baseball cap, ripped jeans and winter boots. She left in a red Ford Mustang.

Contact Tri-Cities Crime Stoppers with any information. All calls are confidential, callers do not need to identify themselves, and those who report information may be eligible for a reward.

Call 586-8477 or 800-222-8477 or go to www.tricitiescrimestoppers.org.